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1975 Alfasud 1.3 ti - The return of the King

Body preparation Dimitris Dalachanis from Athens, Greece is the proud owner of this early Alfasud Ti 1.3 built in 1974. Here are some lines he wrote about his Alfasud.

The return of the King... This title is the least I can think of our little Sud. There is no other way to describe the resurrection of this classic car; The Alfasud is considered classic by many enthusiasts around the world but especially for my family which instantly adopted the car as a fifth family member as early as 33 years ago.

A quick rewind back in 1974 at the United Kindom. Somewhere in London a small blue Alfasud Ti is sold to a young Greek. Having just arrived new from Napoli, Italy this LHD AlfaSud Ti 1.3 is ready to start the long long way to home. Counting endless miles it finally reaches northern Greece, Messinia.

Our Alfasud has then covered endless routes without any problems for nearly 33 years. Throughout the years as many as 500.000 kms have been covered and the time to bring the car back to its former glory has just arrived. The decision to proceed in a complete restoration was quickly taken; as you may understand such decisions are taken based on sentiment and emotions...

The worst enemy of the restoration as you can easily guess was rust. It became a headache for the bodyshop that undertook the responsibility to restore the Alfasud. Large metal portions were removed from the chassisincluding transmittion tunnel, sills, front floor and bulkhead being the worst areas. Almost four months at the body shop taking care the dreaded tin worm, the Alfasud started to look like a car again.

While the car was in the resurrection process the interior trims were on the hands of the experts. The cracked dashboard and steering wheel was covered in leather stiched in hand; new seat frames, upholstery, door cards and headliner would fill the interior whereas new carpet replaced the already tired one. The electrical system was repaired wherever attention was needed by rewiring the worn out portions, taking care of earthing points and finally replacing headlight assemblies.

As of late 2008, a complete carburattor rebuilt has been already done, a tune up of the engine timing, renewal of the exhaust system, and within the first weeks of 2009 a complete engine rebuilt has been implemented.

Dimitris plans to keep up the Alfasud running and running as it is a car with distinct character even in the new century where fancy electronics and automation are dominant in the automotive industry.

The following photos show the complete restoration of the Alfasud step by step. As you can easily see, the extend of rust was so big that new sheet metal was used almost everywhere on the car.

Lets browse step by step the preparation steps for the restoration.

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The interior has been completely removed in order to see the extend of rust. There are areas that have not been affected but other areas where structural meaning is essential, rust has eaten sheet metal rendering the car dangerous to drive.

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Tar sheets have been removed and the extend of rust is easily seen . Sills have been structurally weakened and for sure new metal will replace the old rusted sections

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The spare wheel well appears to be in good order. However the wheel arches lips, inner wheel arches, bootlid hinges, lower valances, front chassis rails just to name a few really need attention and new metal welded

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Lets now watch the resurrection of the Alfasud body

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